I Won't Back Down
by MST3KGal
Summary: Veruca loves Larry, but Miranda stands in her way. Will the painful longing drive her to murder? A one-shot songfic.


          Disclaimer: I don't own any of these Lizzie McGuire characters.  If I did, I wouldn't be writing this story, but would instead be counting my money on a beach somewhere.  I also don't own the song "Won't Back Down."  Fuel owns that song.  Fuel rocks.

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Veruca Albano slammed her locker shut and snuck a sideways glance at the happy couple standing near her – Miranda Sanchez and Larry Tudgeman.  How positively adorable.  She gathered her books in her hands, clenching them so tightly that her finger tips turned white.  Veruca knew that _she was meant to be where Miranda was, but somehow the black-haired harlot had gotten in the way.  She had swooped down on Larry as soon as she returned from Mexico and he hasn't looked back since.  But yet Veruca had been so close.  She and the beautiful Larry had shared a romantic moment at Ethan Craft's murder-mystery party last year, and it seemed like everything was finally working out the way Veruca wanted.  Veruca's normally cold and uncaring heart swelled passionately as she remembered the few precious seconds in which her fingers had been nestled in between Larry's long and delicate fingers, and the way his radiant blue eyes had gazed deeply into her brown ones, staring at her as if she was the only one in the world who was allowed to hold his hand._

          _"God, I love him so much…" Veruca thought miserably as she stood behind a trash can and watched as Larry and Miranda flirted with each other – touching, hugging, and kissing on the cheek.  That was what Veruca wanted.  And that was what she would get, even if drastic measures had to be taken against the evil wench who had stolen the one thing that she held near and dear to her heart._

_I know what darkness means  
(and the void you learned from me)  
The isolation steams  
(So I think it wants to bleed)  
The echoes in my brain  
(All the things you said to me)  
You took my everything  
Now I'm coming for you._

She couldn't stand it anymore.  Brushing aside the salty tears that threatened to run down her freckled face, Veruca stormed past Miranda and Larry and out the door.  They didn't even notice her anyway.  They were too busy acting like they were in love.

          Veruca slowly walked home, clutching her books to her chest and this time not bothering to wipe away the tears that spilled from her eyes.  Life just wasn't fair.  The notion that Miranda ended up with Larry was almost too much for Veruca to bear.  Every time she thought about it, her heart would start beating faster and her blood pressure would rise.  Something had to be done to stop this insanity.  They didn't belong together.

_I won't back down  
I will not bow  
I've come to bring you hell  
I can't forget  
The things you did  
I've come to bring you hell._

It was so hard to face each day, knowing that Miranda and Larry were in two of her classes and she would have to sit there and watch them act all cute and cuddly.  It was positively disgusting.  Veruca remembered every word Miranda said to him, every facial expression she gave him and the way she'd lean on his desk when she turned to watch the teacher write on the board.  They'd pass notes in class and smile about them, like it was a joke that only the two of them could understand.  The tears started flowing faster as Veruca remembered how Larry ran his fingers through Miranda's dark hair during English class.  She so desperately wanted it to be her hair instead.

_"I can't cry.  Crying is for babies,"_ Veruca thought, sniffling and sobbing as she walked down the sidewalk.  _"Crying is for people who are weak.  WEAK!  I AM NOT WEAK!  Larry is weak…he gave into Miranda's seductive ways.  She seduced him like a black widow spider.  Once she uses him, she will cast him aside like yesterday's garbage, because that is all she knows.  She is just one of those shallow, air headed whores who cares more about popularity and getting a manicure than appreciating a good thing like Larry.  I must rescue him from the clutches of that…that… SLUT.  It's time that she was the one crying.  It's time that she was the one who felt pain.  Pain.  She must feel pain.  Horrible pain."_  The more she walked, the angrier she got, and the more she wanted to solve this Miranda problem once and for all.  The only question was…how should she do it?_  
  
_The shadows that you see  
(In the places that you sleep)  
Are memories of me  
(Better pray your soul to keep)  
The truth behind your eyes  
(You know the thing you never see)  
Your darkest little lies  
I'm coming for you._  
  
          _

Veruca rushed the rest of the way home and ran to her kitchen, examining the long, sharp knife set that her mother had received as a gift last Christmas.  She slowly pulled out one of the knives and watched as it glinted and winked back at her.  It seemed to have Miranda's name written all over it.  Veruca ran her finger over the smooth black handle and turned the knife over – it was clean.  Extremely clean.  But soon, it wouldn't be.  Soon it would be tainted with Miranda's vile blood, but it would be worth it in the end.

_I won't back down  
I will not bow  
I've come to bring you hell  
I can't forget  
The things you did  
I've come to bring you hell._

Veruca knew that Miranda and Larry often went to Miranda's house after school to do their homework together.  Of course, it was usually biology homework since that was Miranda's worst subject.  She was a total idiot.  How could she not understand the inner workings of the human body, or the life cycle of plants?  This is why Veruca and Larry belonged together, because Veruca knew all about biology.  She could have conversations with Larry - intelligent and thought-provoking conversations that would last for hours and hours.  It would be a dream come true.  And once Miranda was out of the picture, it would be so much easier to be with Larry.  They would finally be united, body and soul, and become that one special couple that everyone envied and wanted to be like.  They would walk down the hall, hand in hand, and people would whisper things like,

          _"There goes Veruca and Larry.  They make the perfect couple, don't they?  I'm so jealous of them."_

_          "Oh, I know what you mean.  No two people are better suited for each other in the whole entire world.  They have the same interests, and plus they're crazy about each other.  They're so lucky to have one another."_

Veruca evilly smiled to herself as she clutched the end of the knife in her hand and approached Miranda's living room window.  She peeked in and watched as Miranda and Larry shared a romantic kiss on her couch.  Their books and papers were spread out on the coffee table, but of course they weren't doing any work.  

          _"She distracts him," Veruca thought angrily as she felt her blood begin to boil the way it usually did whenever she saw Miranda.  _"Larry can't even get any work done when he is around her.  She's going to make him get an F in biology, and then his whole academic career will be ruined!  She won't even care.  All she cares about is passing her assignments and that's all.  Miranda will pay.  She'll pay dearly for being a selfish bitch."__

She quietly opened the window and climbed inside Miranda's house, still tightly grasping her weapon of choice.  Veruca brought the knife out from behind her back and slowly stalked into the living room, enjoying the way the light from the sun glared off of the cold metallic knife.  She knew that Miranda and Larry were alone and that no one would catch her.  Miranda's mom and dad were both at work, and wouldn't be home for another two hours.  Veruca knew this because everyday she followed the two lovebirds home from school and watched their every move.  She'd sit outside the window and watch them kiss and hug and watch movies together, feeling as if her heart had been ripped from her chest and danced on with steel-toed boots.  Sometimes Larry would stay for dinner, and every time Miranda's fingers accidentally brushed against Larry's as she passed him the salt, Veruca wanted to scream bloody murder.  But now Miranda was going to be the one screaming bloody murder.  And Veruca would be the one enjoying it. 

          Miranda and Larry broke free from their embrace when Veruca entered the living room, flashing the knife in all of its beautiful glory.  Miranda barely had any time to scream before Veruca plunged the knife into her chest.  She didn't just stab her once, but many times as she relished the way the crimson liquid gushed out and stained the blade as well as her hands.  It was as if time stood still and all the hurt, all the anger and all the frustration came pouring out along with Miranda's blood.  Veruca felt cleansed and refreshed, like she was ending a new chapter in her life and starting something new.  The blood didn't represent death; it represented life – the life that she and Larry would begin together once Miranda's last breath escaped her lips.

_All the scars that never heal  
All the wounds that will not seal  
I will not forget the day  
These memories never fall__._

_I won't back down  
I will not bow  
I've come to bring you hell  
I can't forget  
The things you did  
I've come to bring you hell_

"Oh my god!  Miranda!  No!" Larry was sobbing as he held a dying Miranda in his arms.  He was covered in her blood, but he didn't seem to care.  He brushed her matted black hair off of her forehead and cradled her small, limp body against him, the tears running down his face and mixing with her blood.  As her glassy and frozen eyes slowly shut, she died right there in Larry's arms.  He screamed loudly, staring at the murderous redhead standing in front of him.  "How could you do this, Veruca?!  HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?!"

          "Don't you see, Larry?  I did it for US!" Veruca yelled, waving the knife around wildly.  "I did it because you and Miranda don't belong together – YOU AND I DO!  She was just in the way, darling. Don't you see?!  She was just in the way!"

          Larry didn't answer, but just kept bawling like a maniac as he continued to hold Miranda.  He shook his head as the sobs racked his body.  "No, Veruca!  I loved her!  Can't you understand that?!  I don't love you!  I will never love you!  No matter what you do, no matter what you say – I WILL NEVER LOVE YOU!"

          Veruca's own eyes began to fill with tears.  She couldn't believe what Larry had just said.  It was quite possibly the worst thing he could ever say to her.  She had pined for him for the past two years, thinking and hoping and praying that there may be a chance for them to finally be together forever.  And now, with his harsh words, Veruca knew that there was no way her dream would ever come true.  And since her dream would never come true, there was no reason to go on living.

          "Oh Larry!  I'm sorry!  I will always love you!"  Veruca cried as she thrust the knife into her stomach, pushing it in deeper and deeper and feeling the red-hot pain coarse through her veins.  As Veruca collapsed on the ground, the knife clattering to the floor, her eyes fluttered shut and she began to think of all the wonderful moments her and Larry shared together.

          _"You know…you really look right in these old fashioned clothes."_

_          "Thanks.  I always thought that I was born in the wrong time."_

She smiled as her own blood flowed out of the knife wound and stained Miranda's carpet.  She felt like she should move, but it was cold - so very cold.

_"Yeah, me too.  I always thought I should have lived in the Third Age in Middle Earth."_

_          "Well, I was thinking more of the 1920's…but yours is good too."_

Veruca's last thought was of the two of them, sitting at Lizzie's kitchen counter.  Larry was holding her hand, and for a moment, everything was right in the world.  There was no outside noise, no interruptions, no tears and no hurt.  There was no reason why they couldn't be together.  There was no girl named Miranda Sanchez to come in and screw everything up.  There was only her, Larry and the ocean blue of his eyes as they engulfed her senses and quenched her thirst.  But now there was only a blood soaked carpet, the sound of sirens from outside the house and the bitter end of an obsessive love.

          Now there was only darkness.

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          Yeah, so umm…this is my first angsty/murderous story.  It's sort of a contrast from my other one – just a little!  But I'd like to thank Amy for giving me the idea.  You rock!  Whoo!  I guess I'd also like to thank all the wonderful members of the Lizzie RPG because without you guys, the character of Veruca would never have had the opportunity to mold into a psychotic freak.  So thanks for giving me that opportunity!  I luff you guys!


End file.
